Rwanda nationals in Mombasa turn up in numbers for presidential election

By Robert Mutasi 

The Rwandan community living in Kenya gathered at polling stations in Mombasa to vote for the next president of Rwanda in the general elections. 

 The presidential candidates are Paul Kagame of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), member of parliament Frank Habineza of the Rwanda Democratic Green Party and Philippe Mpayimana, the only independent candidate. 

 In the parliamentary elections, a total of 589 candidates compete for 80 seats in the lower house of the parliament.  

  More than 4,000 Rwandans have registered for this year's presidential and parliamentary elections, and Sunday's voting surpassed that of the High Commission of Rwanda based in Nairobi.  

 Paul Kagame is running for a fourth term with the aim of extending his mandate for another five years. 

 But his rule is widely criticized by right-wing groups as an autocracy that stifles the media and political opposition through arbitrary arrests, killings and enforced disappearances. 

 Kagame also oversaw controversial constitutional changes that cut the president's term from seven years to five and changed the Rwandan leader's clock, allowing him to rule until 2034. 

 This is the second time Frank Habineza is contesting for the seat after incumbent President Kagame won the 2017 general elections.

 Elections by the Rwandan diaspora took place a day before elections in the capital Kigali, where voters will choose who will lead the country for the next five years on Monday.